News

Early mover, Conan Salada weighs in on the question of "representative government" after a small group of fiscally responsible residents went head-to-head with the tax hungry education industry at a deliberative session last weekend. From Salada's LTE: "As was expected, they were completely outnumbered, ridiculed and ultimately silenced. School board member Susan Hay summed up the proceedings perfectly, 'We don’t need a very small minority of people in this community — that do not in any way represent the will of the people — telling us how to do our job.'
This brings up a very important question. Who, then, represents me? If I have no voice because the powers that be disagree or outright refuse to hear me, why then should I be forced to pay into such an institution? What happened to deriving their powers from the consent of the governed? Well, I officially renounce the consent I never swore to in the first place. More...

Bored with the simple joys of skiing and snowshoeing this winter? Why not take the dogs out sledding? Or maybe try some winter fatbiking? Or, better yet, unleash your inner lumberjack with some adult axe throwing. Check out some of the unusual and fun stuff you can do in New Hampshire during the winter at Visit White Mountains.Photo credit: Bretton Woods.

Mike Vine got involved with the liberty movement at age thirteen after looking into third parties for a school project and deciding libertarianism was the one for him. In August 2011, Mike and his wife moved from Manhattan to NH. New York was increasingly failing to offer things they wanted in their lives, such as independent businesses and the ability for him to start his business, Centinel Consulting. A primarily liberty-oriented business, Mike is essentially able to be a "professional libertarian," writing about Austrian Economics and alternative investments, such as gold and silver. In this video, Mike expands on the latest project he is working on - The Praxeum, a flexible use space for the liberty community that has a co-working aspect, as well as a venue for community meetings, such as homeschooling meetups, an Austrian study group, and more.

Based in New Hampshire, movers of the Free State Project are putting into practice a slew of tactics in an effort to advance liberty, and be part of a productive, harmonious, and, most importantly, voluntary community. More...

Says NH Magazine: "New Hampshire is out in front again — this time in a 'revolution' in how we pay for things. And helping to lead the change is Manchester resident Zach Harvey. Two years ago, he and his brother Josh created an ATM for Bitcoin, an increasingly accepted alternative currency that is strictly digital." Brothers Zach and Josh Harvey are FSP early movers. Check out this interview with Zach produced by other early movers for the "It's Like This Too" series for Voices of Liberty. The New Yorker covered Zach and the Bitcoin ATM last year during the FSP's winter conference Liberty Forum. More...

The Free State Project (FSP) announced recently an exclusive partnership with Milford-based cryptocurrency startup ziftrCOIN for FSP’s annual Liberty Forum event that takes place March 5-8 in Manchester.

ziftrCOIN is an innovative new altcoin designed to bring on board the next 10 million cryptocurrency users. Ziftr, the company behind ziftrCOIN, has designed a suite of tools to make cryptocurrency highly accessible and easily adoptable for both consumers and merchants. These tools include ziftrPAY, a secure API that enables merchants to accept Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, ziftrCOIN and other popular altcoins in addition to credit cards; ziftrWALLET, a multicoin digital wallet, and ziftrSHOP, an online marketplace where consumers can shop their favorite online merchants and pay using cryptocurrency or credit cards. Each ziftrCOIN will have a $1 minimum redemption value when spent within Ziftr’s retailer network. More...

California-based ska band Warehouse One released a new track called "Victimless Crime Spree." In a tweet, the band says: "Title stolen from/inspired by @derrickjme." Derrick J is an FSP early mover who starred in the embedded documentary about his activism in Keene, NH. Whether you love the movie or not, Derrick's actions and film inspired others to make protest art, and this is a good thing. As Aldous Huxley, author of A Brave New World, states at the start of "Derrick J's Victimless Crime Spree": "The... creative life of man is ultimately impossible without a considerable measure of individual freedom." To listen to Warehouse One's new track, which calls out the emerging police state (NSFW), and to read more, visit The Free Thought Project.

There is a growing trend in New Hampshire: More women are learning to shoot and arming themselves. “When the government started talking about gun control," said Dan Gebers, president of the Major Waldron Sportsmen’s Association and a Dover police officer, "There was a major influx in [female] membership, young and old.” Several FSP early movers, and founding members of the Women’s Defense League of New Hampshire, are quoted in the Seacoast Online article.Photo credit: Foster's Daily Democrat front page. (They ran a story about this trend over the weekend as well.)

In an unprecedented move, the taxi commission for Portsmouth, NH, voted unanimously to ask the City Council to eliminate all taxi medallions and end city inspections and the regulation of taxi fares in order to level the playing field between regulated taxis and Uber rides. Said Lt. Chris Cummings, the Portsmouth Police Department’s liaison with the Taxi Commission: “I guess it’s going to come down to what consumers want to do.” Indeed. Read more at the New York Post, which has dubbed Portsmouth, NH, home of the FSP early mover initiative the FreeCoast, "Uber City." For more coverage, see Seacoast Online.Photo credit: Christopher Sadowski

New Hampshire is known as a libertarian hot spot, and the Bitcoin community here is strong. Read about the rich connections between Bitcoin and the Free State Project here. Now, Republican Representative Eric Schleien has introduced a bill, with bipartisan support, that would mandate the state treasurer to “develop an implementation plan for the state to accept bitcoin as payment for taxes and fees [by 2017]." Read more about the proposed bill at PanAm Post.Full text of bill.Photo credit: Bitcoin Magazine

NH leads the charge again. This time, a new bill that will require state police officers to wear and use cameras during interactions with the public. Says the bill's prime sponsor, Rep. Kyle Tasker: "As much as I like police accountability, this is more about re-establishing that trust. Instead of having a ‘he said, she said’ situation, you have a neutral, very objective witness to what goes on." Read more at the Concord Monitor.

On top of the FSP's Liberty Forum and the Porcupine Freedom Festival, early movers have been organizing their own liberty-oriented events to highlight different regions and approaches to more "Liberty in Our Lifetime." Watch the clip for highlights from the 1st Annual FreeCoast Festival, held in Fall 2014 in Portsmouth and NewMarket, which focused on radical entrepreneurship.

The Porcupine is the FSP's mascot--and liberty lovers within the state of New Hampshire call themselves "Porcs"--because these peaceful creatures just want to be left alone, and, on the flip side, you don't want to mess with them. National Geographic shares some fun fast facts about these fascinating creatures. Read more.Photo credit: HARRISE HARRIS, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC YOUR SHOT

Hoping to surround herself with like-minded people, Merav Yaakov moved to New Hampshire in 2011 as part of the Free State Project. Since then, she has focused some of her efforts on recruiting liberty-minded candidates to run for the State of New Hampshire House of Representatives. Merav is not in favor of suggesting too many new bills, but rather vetoing and repealing bad legislation. Merav has also taken the lead on organizing this year's Liberty Forum, an annual event intended to showcase the community in hopes of attracting new movers and FSP signers. This year, Liberty Forum takes place March 5th-8th; you can find more information and buy your tickets at NHLibertyForum.com.

Based in New Hampshire, movers of the Free State Project are putting into practice a slew of tactics in an effort to advance liberty, and be part of a productive, harmonious, and, most importantly, voluntary community. More...

When life hands you snow... make snowballs! The east coast was recently hit by what was hyped as the Snowpocalypse of 2015. In typcial "have snow, will have fun" fashion, residents of Portsmouth, NH, made the most of the blizzard. The giant snowball fight was promoted through social media, and around 1PM, the melee broke out in the town square. After the fun, participants went to a bar to warm up and share their experiences. Read more at Mail Online.Photo credit: Youtube.

In NH, folks don't just complain about police militarization, they do something about it. Over the past few years, in several towns across the state, concerned NH residents have fought the acquisition of BEARCATS, garnering national and international media attention in the process. Now, once again, NH leads the charge with a bipartisan bill aimed at stopping local police from receiving military grade weapons. Want to be part of the solution? Join the FSP!More...

In New Hampshire, job prospects look good. In 2014, the unemployment rate dropped to 4%, well below the national average, and more jobs were created in the private sector than in the public sector. Read more at The Union Leader. Interested in moving to NH as part of the Free State Project, but need a job first? Join the FSP Job Alert group on Facebook for tips, job postings, and more. Photo credit: habitatcd.org

From Politico: "With this in mind, Politico Magazine rounded up 14 different state rankings from reputable sources like the Census Bureau, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the FBI, and on important factors such as high school graduation rates, per capita income, life expectancy and crime rate. Then we averaged out each state’s 14 rankings to come up with a master list—atop which sits none other than New Hampshire" (in 2015, sharing this with Minnesota). Read more...Photo credit: Blue Volt CEU

Portsmouth, NH, one of the more left-leaning towns, makes a surprise move, once again proving New Hampshire is in a class of its own when it comes to increasing liberty. The short version: Cabbies complain that Uber is unfair because it doesn't have to follow the same rules they do. So the Portsmouth Taxi Commission votes to eliminate all regulations and disband itself. Check mate, special interests! Where else would this happen? Join the Free State Project, come to Liberty Forum, then move. It's your best chance at "Liberty in Our Lifetime."

Read about the saga at Seacoast Online.Photo credit: AP, taken during Hurricane Sandy in Hoboken.

Ommm! What do Liberty Forum, dogs, and personal wellbeing have in common? New Hampshire, of course! Not only is NH rated #1 for being the most “emotionally recharged” state, dog lovers can bring their four legged friends to the Radisson at Liberty Forum where you can hear some amazing speakers and meet the Porcupine community. Check out the Liberty Forum schedule here. Buy your tickets today. Move to the state that proves liberty strikes a balance!